Braking device for the boom of a sail boat

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a braking device ( 4 ) for braking the boom of a sail boat, comprising a body ( 12 ) with fixation means ( 5 ) mainly to the boom or a control rope, and means for braking a main rope ( 6 ) having its ends connected or guided at two points on both sides of the central longitudinal axis of the sail boat, characterised in that the braking means include at least a first passage opening ( 14, 15, 16 ) formed in the body ( 12 ) for a loop ( 20 ) of the main rope ( 6 ), and a second opening ( 18 ) formed in the body ( 12 ), essentially parallel with the first opening ( 14, 15, 16 ) and inside which protrudes a member ( 19 ) for retaining the loop ( 20 ) that passes around it.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a braking device for the boom of a sail boat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A device such as this is of particular benefit during a jibing maneuver.Such a maneuver is performed when a sail boat is sailing with afollowing wind, when the boom is overhanging the outside of the sailboat. A jibing maneuver consists in deliberately or involuntarilychanging the heading of the sail boat to make it cross the eye of thewind from behind.

When doing this, if this maneuver is uncontrolled or poorly controlled,the boom swings violently from one side to the other, very rapidlygaining speed, especially if the wind is strong and the sea is rough.The boom can then strike the shrouds and lead to breakage of the boom orof the gooseneck which is the articulation between the boom and themast.

It is also possible that a member of the crew standing on the deck maybe taken by surprise by the speed at which the boom is moving, oftenleading to very serious, particularly head, injuries.

In order to make a jibing maneuver safer, it is known practice to usedevices for braking the boom that reduce the speed at which it moves.

A main rope is then fixed or guided at its ends on each of the sides ofthe sail boat, for example at the shroud bottom chain plates. The ropeis slipped through the braking device, the latter being attached underthe boom.

Devices of this type are known from documents EP 0 630 806, U.S. Pat.No. 4,941,420, GB 2 299 798, U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,962 and GB 2 358 847.

These devices comprise a body equipped with means of attachment,particularly to the boom or to a control rope, and with means of brakinga main rope the ends of which are fixed or guided at two pointspositioned one on each side of the longitudinal central axis of the sailboat.

These devices are generally complicated, made up of several components,bulky and expensive. Furthermore, in order to implement them, theyrequire one end of the rope to be slipped through the braking device.They cannot therefore be installed directly in the middle of the rope.Implementation of such devices is therefore lengthy and tiresome.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention aims to overcome these disadvantages by proposing aninexpensive, lightweight braking device of smaller dimensions that iseasy to install.

To this end, the invention relates to a braking device of theaforementioned type, characterized in that the braking means comprise atleast one first passage opening for a loop of the main rope, whichopening is created in the body, and a second opening created in thebody, substantially parallel to the first opening and into which thereprojects an element intended to retain the loop by passing the looparound it.

The user thus simply makes a loop in the main rope, inserts it into thepassage opening, then slips the loop around the projecting element.

Friction between the rope and the body is increased by the differencesin curvature of the rope and by the tension applied to it.

According to one feature of the invention, the projecting elementconsists of a finger projecting toward the inside of the second opening,on the opposite side to the first opening, the length of the projectingelement being shorter than the length of the second opening along theaxis of the element.

Advantageously, the body comprises at least two passage openings for theloop of the main rope, these being substantially mutually parallel.

The greater the number and surface area of the regions of curvature ofthe rope, the greater the degree of braking. As a result, slipping therope through a plurality of openings makes it possible to increase thebraking effect afforded by the device.

As a preference, the body comprises three passage openings for the loopof the main rope.

According to one feature of the invention, the body is of flat elongateshape, the passage openings for the loop of the main rope being offsetfrom one another along the longitudinal central axis of the body andcentered on this axis.

According to one possibility of the invention, the passage opening is ofoblong shape, the axis defined by the opening being substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal central axis of the body.

Advantageously, the means of attachment are positioned at one end of thebody and centered on the longitudinal central axis thereof.

As a preference, the second opening is situated toward that end of thebody that comprises the means of attachment.

The invention further relates to a method of using the braking deviceaccording to the invention, characterized in that it comprises thefollowing steps:

-   -   a first step of forming a loop with the main rope,    -   a second step of slipping the loop into at least one passage        opening of the body,    -   a third step of slipping the loop leading out of the passage        opening around the projecting element.

According to one possibility of the invention, between the second andthird steps, the loop leading out of the passage opening is slipped intothe second opening and then back into the passage opening.

The loop is then wound around the region of the body that lies betweenthe passage opening and the second opening, so as, through friction, toincrease the amount of braking.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In any event, the invention will be clearly understood with the aid ofthe description which follows, with reference to the attached schematicdrawing which, by way of nonlimiting example, depicts one embodiment ofthis braking device.

FIGS. 1 and 2 depict a sail boat equipped with the braking deviceaccording to the invention, according to first and secondimplementations respectively;

FIGS. 3 to 5 depict the successive steps of a first configuration of themain rope on the braking device;

FIGS. 6 to 8 depict alternative configurations of the main rope.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 2 depict a sail boat comprising a mast 1 equipped with aboom 2 and with a sail 3.

A braking device 4, also known as a boom brake, is positioned under theboom 2 and attached thereto by a shackle 5.

According to a first implementation of the braking device 4 depicted inFIG. 1, a main rope 6 is mounted on the braking device 4, the two endsof the main rope being led into the cockpit via turn pulleys 8 fixed toeach side of the sail boat at the shroud bottom chain plates.

The tension in the rope can then be adjusted from the cockpit.

According to another implementation option depicted in FIG. 2, the endsof the main rope 6 are attached directly to the shroud bottom chainplates. The braking device 4 is connected to a first end of a controlrope 10 in which a tension can be adjusted in a predefined manner. Thesecond end of the control rope is led into the cockpit via turn pulleys11.

The tension applied to the braking device 4 therefore influences thetension in the main rope 6 and, therefore, the amount of braking.

As is clear in particular from FIG. 3, the braking device 4 comprises abody 12 made of a metallic material and forged as a single piece. Thebody 12 is of flat elongate shape, the attachment shackle 5 beinglocated at a first end 13 of the body 12.

The body comprises a first 14, a second 15 and a third 16 passageopening, all of which are oblong, these being offset from one anotheralong the longitudinal central axis A of the body 12, from the first end13 to the second end 17 of the body 12 respectively, and centered on theaxis A.

The axis defined by each of the passage openings 14, 15, 16 ispositioned substantially perpendicular to the axis of the body A.

The body further comprises an opening 18 created between the passageopenings 14, 15, 16 and the first end 13 of the body 12, into whichopening there projects, along the axis of the body A and in thedirection of the first end 13, a finger 19 forged as one with the body12.

The length of the finger 19 is shorter than the length of the opening 18along the axis of the body A. The space defined between the free end ofthe finger 19 and the body 12 is at least equal to the diameter of therunning part of a rope.

It should be noted that the number of passage openings can vary to suitthe application, this braking device being suited to sail boats equippedwith sails of a surface area of up to 40 m².

We shall now describe the successive steps of a first way of configuringthe braking device on the main rope.

According to a first step depicted in FIG. 3, a loop 20 is formed in themain rope 6. A second step depicted in FIG. 4 is to slip the loop 20into a passage opening. In this type of configuration, this would be thefirst passage opening 14.

In a third step depicted in FIG. 5, the loop 20 leading out of thepassage opening 14 is passed around the finger 19, inside the secondopening 18 situated at the first end 13 of the body 12.

The braking device 4 can thus be positioned on the main rope 6 withoutthe need to detach the braking device 4 or the ends of the rope 6.

FIG. 6 describes a second type of configuration in which the loop 20 isslipped into the second passage opening 15 and then into the first 14,then finally around the finger 19.

FIG. 7 describes a third configuration in which the rope 20 is slippedin succession into the third passage opening 16, into the second 15,into the first 14, and then finally around the finger 19.

FIG. 8 describes a fourth configuration similar to that depicted in FIG.4, in which the loop 20 is slipped in succession into the third passageopening 16, into the second 15, into the first 14, into the opening 18equipped with the finger, then back into the first passage opening 14and then is finally passed around the finger 19.

It is of course possible to use any other alternative configuration thatwill be obvious from the configurations explained hereinabove.

As goes without saying, the invention is not restricted to theembodiment of this braking device that has been described hereinabove byway of example but on the contrary encompasses all variants thereof.

1. A braking device for a boom of a sail boat, comprising a bodyequipped with means of attachment, and with means of braking a main ropethe ends of which are fixed or guided at two points positioned one oneach side of a longitudinal central axis of the sail boat, whereinbraking means comprise at least one first passage opening for a loop ofthe main rope, which opening is created in the body, and a secondopening created in the body, substantially parallel to the first openingand into which there projects an element intended to retain the loop bypassing the loop around it.
 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe projecting element consists of a finger projecting toward an insideof the second opening, on an opposite side to the first opening, alength of the finger being shorter than a length of the second openingalong an axis of the projecting element.
 3. The braking device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the body comprises at least two passageopenings for the loop of the main rope, these being substantiallymutually parallel.
 4. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the bodycomprises three passage openings for the loop of the main rope.
 5. Thedevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body is of flat elongateshape, the passage openings for the loop of the main rope being offsetfrom one another along a longitudinal central axis of the body andcentered on this axis.
 6. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein thepassage opening is of oblong shape, an axis defined by the opening beingsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal central axis of thebody.
 7. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the means ofattachment are positioned at one end of the body and centered on thelongitudinal central axis thereof.
 8. The device as claimed in claim 7,wherein the second opening is situated toward an end of the body thatcomprises the means of attachment.
 9. A method of using the brakingdevice as claimed in claim 1, comprising: forming a loop with the mainrope, slipping the loop into at least one passage opening of the body,slipping the loop leading out of the passage opening around theprojecting element.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein,between the second and third steps, the loop leading out of the passageopening is slipped into the second opening and then back into thepassage opening.